Is it possible that the U.S. governments response to the 9/11 attacks has served al-Qaeda interests? Despite the hype, U.S. law-enforcement officials have found little evidence of serious terrorist activities inside the country, compelling them to escalate their use of prosecution and entrapment to justify their enormous budgets.

An Independent Policy Forum held on 3/7/08. Peter L. Hays, Associate Director of the Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies, and Theresa Hitchens, Director of the Center for Defense Information, discuss the implications that the U.S. takedown of a malfunctioning satellite have for a potential arms race in space.

Did the United States test an anti-satellite weapon when it shot down an out-of-control spy satellite earlier this month? Or was it a precautionary measure to protect people on the ground who might have been hit with a fuel tank filled with a poisonous gas?

The recent elections in Iraq have not resolved the main problems therea constitutional crisis, continued terrorism, a potent Sunni rebellion, and fighting between religious and ethnic groups that could result in a full-blown civil war. Is the Iraq war a hopeless quagmire that has been lost, or can the U.S. still foster a united, peaceful and prosperous Iraq?